Mushrooms By The Bayou
by PersnickityKitten
Summary: A trip to the bayou for a simple chore ends up messier than intended for detective Drew. That's nothing new, but who'd have expected it would lead to the touchy topic of Henry's girlfriend and what he truly thinks of her?


Nancy stared out the window and sighed. It felt like hours had passed and she still was stuck at the Bolet mansion due to the weather conditions. It showed zero signs of letting up, in fact it seemed as if it were getting worse. Nonetheless, she had a case to solve, and no matter the conditions she was going to solve it; even if it meant having to walk through an eerie graveyard in the middle of the night during a rainstorm, without any umbrella or hood to stay dry.

She decided she might as well get it over with and explore the graveyard. She turned away from the window and headed out the library door. But, before she could get anywhere Renee stopped her.

"Oh Nancy, would you be a dear and pick some mushrooms for me?" The kind, yet very creepy, old lady asked.

"Mushrooms? Well, sure, what kind?" By now Nancy was so used to being asked to run someone else's errands, it was like second nature to her to just say yes, since, no matter how many times she said it, saying no never worked.

"Yes, right now I need mushrooms. I was hoping to have some picked for tonight, but from the looks of all this potting I have to do…."

"Well, okay...but, in return, can I borrow that shovel hanging on the wall?" Nancy asked, remembering mention of a certain shovel in that story book Bruno wrote.

"Why of course. That was Bruno's favorite shovel you know, don't know why he kept it since he never used it though…But, that's beside the point, right now, I need five painted corks. You'll have more luck finding them around the cemetery around boggy areas rather than in the garden, but there might be a few here nonetheless. They have a short fat stem and a large bell-shaped cap, and they're covered with red dots. I just need five, no more no less. When you're done, go ahead and borrow that shovel. Here's a bag to put them in."

"That shouldn't be too hard. Sure." Nancy grabbed the small pouch.

"Thank you, dear."

Nancy was heading to the cemetery anyway, this will give her an excuse for why she was wandering such a place at this time, just in case she ran into anybody (though she doubted that would happen since Henry and Renee were the only people around and neither of them seemed to move from their spots). Plus she would get that shovel in return.

She explored all corners of the garden first –Renee was right, she could only find 2 mushrooms- before she headed off to find the rest.

She had found 2 more in no time at all, but the final one was always the toughest to discover. Finally, she found it by the bayou sitting precariously on the tip of a log that hung over the dark waters. Nancy moved carefully along the soggy wood and reached for the mushroom. But, right as she picked it up she stumbled a bit and the tip of the log bobbed into the waters. She sighed, happy she didn't fall in, until suddenly a low rumble rose up under the water.

"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good," Nancy said frozen stiff.

Before she knew it a huge gator pulled its head out from under the bayou and snapped right at Nancy. She didn't get bit, luckily, but that scare was enough to get her to stumble and fall right into the murky water.

The disgusting water got up her nose and into her mouth (due to her letting out a half gasp-half-scream from the surprise before falling in) and the young detective splashed to the surface spitting out the gunk.

She blinked the water out of her eyes only to be greeted by the sight of something big, dark, and long slowly floating towards her.

She stared wide-eyed at the alligator slowly approaching and immediately started thrashing towards shore. Her feet had just reached the shoreline before she saw the gator open its mouth and snap again. Fortunately, the beast seemed to change its mind about having the teenage detective for dinner, as it slowly turned around and floated away.

Nancy sat there her heart beating speedily. She was covered in moss and grime and she could taste it in her mouth too. She had lost a shoe in the process and her whole bag of mushrooms! Now she was soaked to the bone and freezing.

"Ugh, today is not my day," She muttered as she tried to wipe the stuff off her.

"Nancy! What on earth are you doing?!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

Nancy turned around and saw Henry Bolet holding an umbrella in his hands and staring at her bewildered.

"Uhm…I was picking…mushrooms?"

Henry sighed, "Here, I'll help you back at the mansion and Renee can help you get cleaned up." He held out his hand and pulled Nancy up.

"Thanks."

"What on earth happened?!"

"Well, I was picking mushrooms for Renee but when I went to grab one on that log a alligator came up and tried to bite me! It scared me so much that I tripped and fell in the water and then got chased out by that same gator. I'm lucky I've still got all the parts of me together. But I lost my shoe and my clothes are now soaked," Nancy answered grimly.

Henry ran his hand through his hair and sighed, clearly exasperated, "Why is it that every time I find you you're always lying on the ground with some crazy story to tell? Please tell me this won't be a regular occurrence."

"Heh, I don't make any promises," Nancy muttered sarcastically.

"Well, let's go," Henry responded.

"Uh, Henry?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you let go of my hand please?" The detective said awkwardly, since he was gripping it so tightly she couldn't free her hand herself.

Henry looked down and realized he hadn't let go of Nancy's hand since he helped her to her feet.

"Y-yes! S-sorry about that," Henry responded quickly pulling away embarrassed.

"It's fine…" Nancy mumbled shyly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Let's hurry back, I am freezing in this weather," She quickly covered.

What the heck was that? She felt like she had butterflies in her stomach, something that only happened when she was...

_Ohhh no. NO_. _Now is NOT the time to be crushing on other guys, you have Ned! You can NOT be growing feelings for HENRY of all people. I mean, just look at him. His greasy black hair, the dark shadows under his eyes, the creepy tattoo along his arm, his mysterious demeanor, that oddly sexy scar above his eye…._

_Woah, wait- sexy? Really Nancy? _She tried to veer her mind away from such thoughts.

"So, this is surprising, I never thought I'd see you stand up, let alone move so far from your computer," Nancy joked.

Henry looked away, "Well, I was just…wandering around to clear my head and stretch my legs." His gaze trailed off.

Nancy followed his eyes and saw his gaze was wandering in the direction of his family's crypt.

"Ohh, I see."

_Poor Henry, still hasn't really gotten over his parent's death has he?_ Nancy pitied the guy, he had no close relatives, a terrible girlfriend, and he is stuck sorting out his dead uncle's finances.

"I'm just really…." He sighed, "Really in a tight spot right now. I needed some thinking time."

"Because of Summer?" Nancy asked cautiously.

Henry scoffed, "Yeah, especially because of Summer…"

"Henry, why are you with her?" She blurted, not thinking of the fact that that was _personal_ information until after.

"I told you, she is the only girl who ever really liked me for me…if I lost her…well, she is all that's keeping me happy right now."

"You don't seem very happy," Nancy responded dubiously.

"Yeah, well, when I'm with her I _feel_ happier...at least I think..I love her after all. Well, I mean, I'm...yeah I'm in love with her..."

"Are you sure about that?"

Henry stopped, he turned and looked at her seeming irritated, and he opened his mouth like he was about to make a retort, but seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth.

"You don't love her, do you?" Nancy said more as a statement than a question.

He sighed and looked at the ground, hiding whatever emotion he felt towards that comment.

"Henry, you ought to stop trying to deceive yourself with that girl. You don't love her, and...she probably doesn't love you either."

"What makes you so sure?!" He snapped looking up angrily, finally showing his expression.

"I have been in love before, with Ned. And I know that love doesn't involve forcing someone to buy expensive items for you. Love isn't materialism, it isn't something you buy, love is better than that."

"Yeah, well, you don't know what it's like to only have one person who cares for you," Henry answered, "You're life is probably perfect. A perfect home, a perfect family, a perfect boyfriend, probably plenty of friends who like you for you. Not a drop of rain has fallen on your life, and yet-" He gestured to the downpour around them- "in my life it's always raining."

"My life isn't perfect. I lost my mom when I was younger," Nancy answered trying to sympathize with him.

But, Henry just scoffed, "Pah, you lost your mother? I lost BOTH my parents, and then I was left with uncle _Bruno_ who couldn't care less about me, and look at what happened to him! Now I am alone. I don't have anyone who can help me out.

"And then," He continued smiling a bit, "I met Summer, and for once it stopped raining. For once I felt like someone actually cared about me, I felt like I had someone to talk to, I had a reason to be happy. She was the only one who liked me just the way I am...or at least at first I thought she did..." he sighed and looked stared at the pavement sadly,

"Nancy..I...I _know_ Summer doesn't really love me, at least not anymore. Maybe she did at first, because it really did feel like at one point she truly care about me, and so did I. However, nowadays, I am beginning to realize I don't love her like I did...but, I just can't let go of her and I don't want her to let go of me."

"It..." Nancy returned slowly pursing her lips, "it seems to me you are just living in the past. The girl you once loved doesn't exist anymore, you're waiting for her to come back, but she isn't going to. She doesn't love you, and you don't love her, what's the point in being with her besides keeping up a useless charade?

"Plus, you aren't alone. I mean, I like you! Despite your...cynicism, and moroseness I think you're really a nice guy, Henry. I don't think you need a girl in your life to be happy, you just need a shoulder there to support you and I don't think Summer is a suitable support. You need a friend, a _real_ one. Summer is just using you because of your money. Whatever love you two once shared is gone."

Nancy then looked straight into his eyes almost begging him, "Henry, you _need_ to break up with her….you don't have to worry about being lonely, I'll be here if you need someone. Promise."

Henry was quiet for a long time. He watched the rain splash against the ground, forming puddles between the cracks.

Finally he sighed and with a weak grin said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Nancy began to smile.

"Okay. Yes. Yes I will break up with summer...thank you Nancy. You know, I thought you were nothing but a nosy, wannabe detective when I first met you-"

"Hey!"

"But, you're a really nice person, a bit tactless for a detective, but kind nonetheless...and…I would be happy to call you a friend."

Nancy smiled, she could feel her cheeks flushing with embarrassment, "Thanks."


End file.
